Poisons like cyanide or belladonna may seem like the stuff of novels. But before Agatha Christie became the world’s best-selling mystery writer, such toxic compounds were, for a time, part of her everyday life—and literary inspiration.

This year's Origami Holiday Tree is now lighting up the Grand Gallery, on the Museum's first floor. Decked with 800 hand-folded paper models, the tree's theme this year is "Wicked, Wild, and Wonderful," inspired by the new exhibition The Power of Poison. Museum icons, including dinosaurs of many kinds, also grace the tree.